Tape applying machine



March 5, 1940. R BLOMQUIST 2,192,634

TAPE APPLYING MACHINE Filed March 9, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 4 li VENT OR.iZgy (2.3[0272gzu29 A4 ATTORNEY.

March 5, 1940.

R. A. BLOMQ UIST TAPE APPLYING MACHINE Filed March 9, 1938 2Sheets-Sheet 2 I INVENTOR. [@923 @fiza ATTORNEY.

Patented Mar. s, 1940 UNITED STATES- PATENT OFFICE 9 Claims.

The invention relates generally to a portable or hand machine forapplying adhesive tape and more particularly to the provision of such amachine for applying adhesive tape to the leather I upper portions ofshoes to cover the decorative perforations in the leather and preventthe lining from showing through the perforations.

The general object of the invention is to provide a new and improvedtape applying machine.

10 Other objects include the provision, in such a machine, of'means formounting a roll of tape so as to feed automatically, means for severingthe tape, means for automatically resetting the tape applying mechanism,after a piece has been severed, so as to permit the workman to proceedwith the next operation, and means for placing a drag on the tape as itis applied so as to stretch it, and thereby reduce or take out thestretch in the leather to which the tape is applied.

a A further object -is to provide a portable tape applying machine whichmay be operated by the use of one hand and manipulated much in themanner of an ordinary flat iron, the tape being fed from the tip orpoint of the body member of u the device. An important object is theprovision of a tape applying machine which not only facilitatesapplication of tape in straight lines but which will also apply tapealong curved lines. This reduces the cost of taping materially since soit enables the use of narrow tape following the curve whereas formerly awide tape was applied in a cord-like manner.

Other objects and advantages will become readily apparent fromthefollowing detailed de- 35 scription taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a preferred form of the invention in theprocess 'of applying tape.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation thereof.

40 Fig. 3 is a fragmentary section along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2 lookingin the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary side elevation showing the machine in theprocess of severing the tape.

45 Fig. 5 is a fragmentary bottom view'of the invention as in Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary section along the line- Fig. 'i,is a fragmentarysection along the line While my invention is susceptible of embodimentin many different forms, I have shown in n the drawings and will hereindescribe in detail one such embodiment, with the understanding that thepresent disclosure is to be considered as an exempliflcation of theprinciples of the invention and ispot intended to limit the invention tothe embodiment illustrated. The scope of the 5 invention will be pointedout in the appended claims.

In the form chosen for purposes of disclosure, the invention isportrayed as a portable machine having a body member or block Illprovided at 10 one end with a pair of wheels ll mounted on headed screwdevices II, and at its other end with a pair of tape applying rollersi2, so that the machine mayreadily be moved over a plane surface. Aframe I3 is secured to the upper surface of the block In by means ofscrew devices "it which pass through a horizontal portion l3 of theframe and into the block. The frame has an upstanding portion ii", tothe upper end of which a tape reel I5 is rotatabLv secured. A han- 3:?I6 is secured to the frame to facilitate han-' ng. The inventionprovides means for guiding and placing a drag upon a tape II which isfed from a roll I! mounted on the tape reel i5. As illustrated herein,the guide and drag means is mounted on anupwardly extending portion orpost I. at the forward end of the block ill and consists generally of avertically slidable guide plate I! which is movable from a lower normalposition, as illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and '7, to a raised position, asillustrated in Fig. 4. A U- shaped member 20 surrounds the block portionl0 and is secured atits forward ends to the plate I! by means of aplurality of screws 2! so as to retain the plate memberlain fittedslidable engagement with theblock portion ID.

The. tape l'l passes downwardly from the roll I! and over the forwardsurface of the plate I! (as illustrated most clearly in Fig. '7) andthen 0 down under the rollers l2, so that by pressing downwardly -on thehandle it and moving the device forwardly (toward the left in Fig. 1),the tape is unreeled from the roll l8 and applied to, the surface of thematerial 25 over which the device is moved. In order to facilitate thefeeding of the tape to the rollers i2, the lower end of the plate i9 ispreferably curved at is (Figs. 1

and '7), and side ribs 26 and 21 are provided to form a channel forguiding the tape over the surface ll. As illustrated herein, these side.ribs (Figs. 2 and 3) are secured to the plate is at their upper ends byscrew devices 32 so as to permit lateral adjustment of the lower ends-0fthe ribs to compensate for different widths of u tape. The lower end ofthe rib 26 has a laterally extending portion 28 which is slotted at 29to admit a screw device 29, the reduced portion of which passes throughthe slot and into threaded engagement with the rib 21, as shown in Fig.3. When the screw devices 32 and 29' are tightened, the guide ribs arerigid with the plate and form a channel.

In order to take the stretch out of the tape as it is applied, means isprovided for placing a drag on the tape. This means is herein shown inthe form of a spring member secured at its upper end to a cross bar 3|which extends across the upper ends of the side ribs 26 and 21 and issecured thereto by means of the screw devices 32. The spring 30 isfastened to the cross bar by means of a plurality of screw devices 33 insuch a manner that the lower end of the spring is urged toward the right(Figs. 1, 4 and 7) so as to drag against the downwardly moving tape I1.Preferably, the lower end of the spring 30 is notched to provide teeth30'.

Means is also provided for severing the tape I! whenever the operatorhas completed the application of a stretch of tape. In the preferredform of the invention shown herein, this means comprises a severingmeans or knife 35 secured to one end of a lever 36 which is pivotallymounted intermediate its ends on the upper end of the block portion IIIby means of a transversely extending pivot member 31. The knife 35 issecured to a laterally bent portion 36 of the lever 36 by means of screwdevices 31 and preferably has a slanting edge 35 to facilitate cuttingthe tape when the lever 36 is pivoted in a counterclockwise directionfrom the position shown in Figs. 1 and '7 to that shownin Fig. 4.Further to facilitate the cutting of the tape, a slot 38 is formed inthe forward edge of the block I0, and the guide plate I9, together withthe drag means supported thereon, are raised simultaneously from theposition shown in Fig. '7 to that shown in Fig. 4, so that the portionof the tape cut by the knife 35 is then stretched under the tensioncaused by the upward movement of the guide and drag means.

In order to operate the severing knife, an operating lever 40 ispivotally mounted on the up-.

right portion l3" of the frame by means of a pivot pin 4| which extendsthrough a cylindrical member 4| welded to the frame portion l3". Thelever 40 is provided with a thumb knob 42 so that when the handle I6 isgrasped by the right hand of an operator, his thumb may readily beapplied to the knob 42 without loosening his grip on the handle. Theother end of the operating lever 40 is connected by means of a link 43to the free end 36" of the knife lever 36, so that when the knob 42 isdepressed the knife lever is pivoted in a counterclockwise directionfrom the position shown in Fig. 1 to that shown in Fig. 4. In order toraise the guide and drag means during this severing operation, a link 44is secured at its lower end (by means of a pivot device 45) to anupwardly extending ear 46 formed on the U-shaped member 20 which issecured to the plate I9. The upper end of the link 44 is secured by apivot member 41 to an intermediate point on the operating lever 40. Aswill be readily apparent from the drawings and particularly Figs. 1 and4, the link 44 functions to raise the guide and drag means from theposition shown in Fig. 1 to that shown in Fig. 4 when the thumb knob 42of the operating lever is depressed to operate the tape severing knife.

Means is preferably provided for resetting the machine for a succeedingtape applying operation upon the completion of the tape severingoperation, and for this purpose a coil spring 50 is hooked at one end toan intermediate ofl'set portion 40 of the operating lever 40 (see Figs.2 and '7) and at its other end is secured to the upwardly extendingframe portion I3" by means of an anchoring screw device 5i. This springacts to pull back the operating lever 40 ,from the position shown inFig. 4 to the position shown in Fig. 1. This movement of the operatinglever causes a return movement of the knife lever 36 and at the sametime causes a return or downward movement of the guide and drag means.

It is to be noted that when the guide and drag means are raised to theposition shown in Fig. 4 they are raised sufliciently high to leave apiece of tape I'l extending downwardly below the lower curved end I3 ofthe guide plate. When the device is automatically reset for the nexttape applying operation, the guide and drag means in their downwardmovement unreel tape from the reel I8, due to the action of the dragspring 30 in securely holding the tape against the guide plate l9 andagainst backward or upward movement thereon. When the guide and dragmeans reach their lower position, as shown in Fig. 7, the free end ofthe tape l'l then extends downwardly a sufficient distance so that itwill reach under the first roller I2, as shown in Fig. 7, and permit theoperator to proceed with the application of the tape. Although the freeend of the tape may extend straight down from'the end of the plate I9,it is readily caused to move under the roller I2 merely by tiltingthedevice slightly and pointing it into the material on which the tapeis being applied.

In the exemplary form of the invention, the block In is arched on itsunder surface at I0" and the forward portion of the block is providedwith a longitudinally extending channel-like recess 52 (Figs. 2, 5 and7). Roller supporting bars 53, secured together by a cross piece 54, areinserted in the recess 52 and secured to the block III- by means ofscrew devices 55. The rollers I2 have trunnions I2 fitting into suitablebores in the bars 53.

The tape supporting reel I5 is herein shown mounted on a pivot device 56secured to the upper end of the frame portion I3". A diametricallyextending retaining bar 5'! is provided on one side of the reel and apair of radially extending retaining bars 58and 58' are provided on theother side of the reel, the bar 58' being provided with a handle 58" tofacilitate rotating this bar approximately 180 to an upright position topermit installation of a tape roll.

There is illustrated in Fig. 8 a portion 50 of the leather upper of ashoe on which pieces of tape have been applied to cover up perforations(not shown) in the leather. Not only has a piece of tape been appliedalong a straight line, as indicated at 6|, but also pieces have beenapplied along various curved lines, as indicated at 62, 63, 64, and 65.In order to apply the tape along a curved line, such as illustrated, itis merely necessary for the operator to steer the device along thecurve, much as a fiat iron is steered around on an article being ironed.Since in the past a curved line of perforations have been covered bymeans of a piece of tape applied in a straight line, a piece of tape tocover the perforations covered by the tape 64 would have to be of thesize in dicated by the dashed lines 64. The saving resuiting from theuse of the present invention will be readily apparent.

In operating the preferred form' of the invention, a roll" of tap'eisapplied to the reel I! between guide bars 51, I8 and 58'. The bar 58'may be pivoted upwardly in a well known manner to permit the roll l8 tobe applied. The tape I1 is stretched downwardly over the guide plate I!and under the drag spring 30 with a suflicient end projecting to reachunder the first roller l2, the adhesive 'part of the tape being towardthe left (Figs. 1 and 7), so that it is pressed downwardly on thesurface of the material to which it is applied. In applying tape to aleather shoe upper, such as shown in Fig. 8, it is merely necessary toplace the device so that the free end of the tape under the first rollerI2 is pressed downwardly over one end of a row of perforations.Thereafter, the of the line of perforations, the operator applyingsufllcient pressure on the'handle it to draw the tape through the dragmeans. At the same time, the device may be moved in a straight or acurved line; as desired. when tape has been applied over substantiallythe entire row of perforations, the operator can, by stopping the deviceand depressing the thumb knob 42, cause the knife 35 to sever the tape,as illustrated in Fig. 4;. The device is then moved ahead sufficientlyto apply the upward extending end of the severed piece of tape. Thedevice may then be removed and reset merely by releasing the thumb knob42. During the application of the tape, the drag means maintains the.tape in a stretched condition as it is applied. This is advantageous inthat it counteracts anylater stretching in the leather.

I claim as my invention:

1. A tape applying machine having, in combination, a block adapted to bemoved over the material to which the tape is applied, a roller adjacentthe forward end of theblock for pressing the tape onto such'material,means for supporting a roll oftape on said block,.said block having anupstanding member above said roller and a transverse knife receivingslot adjacent said roller, a tape guide member slidably mounted on saidupstanding member, a spring tensioned drag member for the tape carriedon said guide member, a knife for severing the tape movable through thetape and into said slot, a lever pivotally mounted on said upstandingmember and carrying saidknife at one end, an operating lever pivotallymounted upon the tape supporting means, a link connecting said levers,and a second link connecting said operating lever and said guide memberfor raising the guide member above said slot during the tape severingoperation.

2. A device of the character described having, in combination, aportable support, a tape applying roller rotatably supported thereon, aframe extending upwardly from said support and including a horizontalhandle spaced above said support and a tape reel support above thehandle, a tape reel on said tape reel support, means for guiding tapefrom a roll on said reel to a point substantially tangential to andcontacting the tape applying roller, and means for severing the tapeadjacent said roller including an operating member pivotally supportedon said frame with one end located within the reach of an operator'sthumb when his hand grasps'said handle.

3. A device of the character described having, in combination, asupport, a tape applying roller rotatably supported thereon, a frameextending device is moved in the direction I 3 upwardly from saidsupport and including a handle and a tape reel support, means forguiding tape from a roll on said reel support to the tape applyingroller, means carried on the guide.

means for placinga drag on the tape so as to provide a stretched run oftape adjacent the roller,

means for severing the tape adjacent said roller, means for retractingthe guide and drag means during the severing operation to permit the cutto be made in the stretched run of the tape at a point leavingsufflcient tape "extending to reach the roller when the guide and dragmeans are returned to their normal positiomand means for returning theguide and drag means to their normal positions and thereby reset thedevice for the nexttape applying operation.

' 4. A tape applying machine having, in combination, a block adapted tobe moved over the material to which the tape is applied, a rolleradjacent the forward end of the block for pressing the tape onto suchmaterial, means for supporting a roll of tape on said block, said blockhaving an upstanding member above said roller, a tape guide memberslidably mounted on said upstanding member, a spring drag member for thetape carried on said guide member, a knife for severing the tape, alever pivotally mounted on said -upstanding member and carrying saidknife at one end, an operating lever pivotally mounted upon the tapesupporting means, a link connecting said levers, and a second linkconnecting said operating lever and said guide member for raising theguide member during the tape severing opera- 5. A tape applying machinehaving, in combination, a block adaptedto be moved over the material towhich the tape is applied, a roller adjacent the forward end of theblock for pressing the tape onto such material, means for supportingaa'oll of tape on said block, said block having an upstanding memberabove said roller, a tape guide member slidably mounted on saidupstanding member, a knife for severing the tape, a lever pivotallymounted on said upstanding member and carrying said knife at one end, anoperating lever pivotally mounted upon the tape supporting means, a linkconnecting said levers, and a second link connecting said operatinglever and said guide member for raising the guide member during the tapesevering operation.

6. A tape applying machine having, in combination, a portable frame,means adjacent the forward end of said frame for applying tape, a handlefor manipulating the machine, means for supporting a roll of tape onsaid frame, means for guiding the tape to said tape applying meanscomprising a guide member slidably mounted on said frame for movementfrom a lower guiding position to an upper withdrawn position, a springtensioned drag device for the tape carried on said guide member, meansfor raising said guide member to its withdrawn position, and a knife forsevering said tape operable by said last mentioned means as the guidemember is withdrawn to cut the tape. 1

"I. A tape applying machine having, in combination, a portable frame,means adjacent the forward end of said frame for applying tape, a handlefor manipulating the machine, means for supporting a roll of tape onsaid frame, means for guiding the tape to said tape applying meanscomprising a guide member slidably mounted'on said frame for movementfrom a lower guiding position to an upper withdrawn position, means incombination, a portable frame, a tape applying for raising said guidemember to its withdrawn position, and a knife for severing said tapeoperable by said last mentioned means as the guide member is withdrawnto cut the tape.

8. A tape applying machine having, in combination, a portable frame,means adjacent one end of said frame for applying tape, a handle formanipulating the machine, means for supporing a roll of tape on saidframe, means'for feeding the end of the tape to said tape applying means-comprising a member slidably mounted on said roller rotatable thereon,a handle'for manipulating said frame, means for supporting a roll oftape on said frame, means for placing a drag on the tape so as toprovide a stretched run of tape adjacent said roller, said drag meansbeing movable on the frame away from said roller to increase the lengthof the stretched run, means for severing the tape adjacent said roller,means for retracting the drag means during the severing operation topermit the cut to be made in the stretched run of the tape at a pointleaving sufficient tape extending to reach the roller when the dragmeans is returned to its normal position adjacent the roller, and meansfor returning the drag means to its normal position and thereby resetthe device for the next tape applying operation.

ROY A. BLOMQUIBT.

